The International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw was established under an international agreement between the government of the Republic of Poland and UNESCO and a dedicated parliamentary act of 1997, so it has a unique legal status in the Polish scientific system. The IIMCB is directly supervised by the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who appoints members of the International Advisory Board and, upon the Board's recommendation, the Institute's director. The Board provides strategic advice on research directions, approves financial plans, conducts competitions for laboratory leaders and regularly evaluates the scientific outputs of laboratories.
Research at the IIMCB is supported by an annual statutory subsidy from the Ministry responsible for science and a budgetary subsidy from the Polish Academy of Sciences. Still, up to 70 per cent of the yearly institutional budget comes from external competitive sources.
The main research directions at the IIMCB are RNA biology and cell biology, both aimed at understanding the fundamentals of human diseases, which are the basis for creating innovative therapeutic and diagnostic methods.
The scientific excellence pursued by IIMCB involves the implementation of ambitious research projects and scientific initiatives, and forming partnerships with leading research centers in Poland and abroad. To ensure that the results of this research are translated into clinical applications, the IIMCB is open to cooperation with the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, including sharing the resources and expertise of our core facilities.
